ABSTRACT
Forests in different parts of the world contribute differentially to ecosystem services, depending on the economic and ecological setting. This chapter describes a framework for assessing land use and ecological processes affecting forests and the implications for a range of ecosystem services. It then addresses the evolving needs for forest monitoring in light of information needs to maintain these services. Enhanced forest productivity and biomass accumulation attributable to fertilization from elevated carbon dioxide concentrations is controversial but may explain increased productivity and biomass accumulation in tropical forests. Nitrogen deposition is another forcing factor on forest productivity with studies suggesting an effect on species composition and ecosystem function in temperate and northern Europe and North America. Communities, national governments, and global policy makers place varying priorities on different ecosystem services. Additional forest variables including vegetation structure and connectivity are integral yet unrealized aspects of monitoring to maintain ecosystem services.
